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| Ken's suspension order thrown out | |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Ken Livingstone's four-week suspension from the mayor's office has been quashed by a High Court judge. | Ken Livingstone's four-week suspension from the mayor's office has been quashed by a High Court judge. |
| He was suspended for his remarks to a Jewish journalist likening him to a Nazi concentration camp guard. | He was suspended for his remarks to a Jewish journalist likening him to a Nazi concentration camp guard. |
| The exchange with Oliver Finegold happened as the mayor left an event in February last year. | The exchange with Oliver Finegold happened as the mayor left an event in February last year. |
| The mayor was challenging a decision by the Adjudication Panel for England that his comments breached the Greater London Authority's code of conduct. | The mayor was challenging a decision by the Adjudication Panel for England that his comments breached the Greater London Authority's code of conduct. |
| At the High Court, Mr Justice Collins said the suspension would be overturned, regardless of whether or not the mayor won his appeal against the Adjudication Panel for England's finding. | At the High Court, Mr Justice Collins said the suspension would be overturned, regardless of whether or not the mayor won his appeal against the Adjudication Panel for England's finding. |
| Oliver Finegold allegedly swore at the mayor | |
| The judge said: "I have made it clear the suspension will be quashed whatever I decide on whether the Panel's finding was correct." | The judge said: "I have made it clear the suspension will be quashed whatever I decide on whether the Panel's finding was correct." |
| He reserved his final judgment on Mr Livingstone's appeal to a later date, saying: "It is not an easy case. There are certain ramifications, whatever I decide, which will affect other matters." | |
| Flawed decision | |
| During the two-day hearing, Mr Livingstone's lawyers argued the panel's decision, made in February, was legally flawed on a number of grounds. | |
| This included the fact the Mayor had not been acting in his official capacity at the time of the incident. | |
| The panel's ruling was defended by the Ethical Standards Officer, who referred the case to the disciplinary body. | |
| The ESO contended the Mayor's arguments were over-complicated and "trivialised" the code of conduct and there was no basis for the judge substituting his own judgment for that of the panel. | |
| If the appeal fails, Mr Livingstone will be responsible for paying his own legal costs, estimated at £80,000, although he will continue to be paid. |